Photo of bloody body shown during Bithlo murder trial

Deliberations began Wednesday in the murder trial for Michael Garay, one of two men accused in the beating death of an elderly Bithlo man almost two years ago.

Closing arguments concluded in the trial about noon Wednesday, and deliberations are expected to continue Thursday morning.

Hugh Edwards, 78, was found dead in a trailer in Bithlo in May 2010. Garay and co-defendant Robert Pascale are accused of beating him to death with a Louisville Slugger, because they mistakenly thought he was a child molester.

Prosecutor William Jay began his closing by showing the jury Edwards' driver license on an overhead projector.

"This was a senseless beating of a little old man," Jay told jurors. "Why? Because a few people thought he was a sex offender."

Jay described the injuries suffered by Edwards before showing jurors a photo of his bloody corpse, collapsed on a broken, overturned tabletop on the floor of his trailer.

"He was struck with a bat hard enough that his head actually caved in," Jay said.

The defense, however, argued that the state failed to prove not only that Garay had a hand in Edwards' killing, but that Garay was even in Edwards' trailer.

Defense lawyer Joseph Haynes Davis told the jury that it was Pascale that killed Edwards. Any actions Garay took, Davis said, were for fear of Pascale.

Jay argued that all jurors need to conclude in order to convict Garay is that he helped Pascale, or encouraged him to kill.

He compared the situation to the Super Bowl: Every player on the winning team gets a ring, he said.

"Mr. Garay has earned his ring, you should give it to him," Jay said. "Give him that ring and convict him."

Jay conceeded that Garay is afraid, but for a different reason.

"He's afraid of you," Jay told the jury. "He's afraid of this day."

Garay faces charges of first-degree murder and accessory after the fact. Pascale, also charged with murder, is awaiting trial.